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Alenka Bratusek is Slovenia's new premier

Alenka Bratusek on Wednesday became the new Slovenian prime minister, with 52 of the 90 legislators backing her cabinet with 13 ministers, dpa reported.

Thirty-two voted against.

Bratusek, 42, heads the 11th government of Slovenia since it split from the former Yugoslavia and is the country's first female premier.

She replaced Janez Jansa, ousted February 27 in a no-confidence vote over a state commission report on corruption alleging that he failed to report all his income.

Two of Jansa's four coalition partners have defected to Bratusek and her Positive Slovenia party for the new majority. The move averted another snap poll and more political instability, but the new cabinet faces daunting challenges.

The ruling coalition comprises Bratusek's Positive Slovenia, President Borut Pahor's Social Democratic Party, as well as the Civic List and the pensioners party DeSUS, both of which were a part of Jansa's cabinet.

Bratusek's coalition controls 49 votes in parliament, but on Monday she received support from independent representatives.

The new government is expected to continue implementing austerity reforms initiated by Jansa's cabinet. That will, however, have to take place amid growing discontent of Slovenians, who launched massive protests and strikes against spending cuts.

After taking the necessary reform steps, Bratusek's government is expected to prepare Slovenia for elections well ahead of their regular term in 2015.

The former Yugoslav republic, which joined the European Union in 2004 and eurozone in 2007, has been hit hard by the economic crisis and has been struggling to reduce spending to a sustainable level.